Leptis Magna

Leptis Magna, spread along the Mediterranean shore east of Tripoli, is one of the most magnificent Roman cities in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site, the grand birthplace of the emperor Septimius Severus, who lavished monumental splendour upon it. Remarkably preserved and long protected by sand, its ruins are breathtaking in scale: the towering Arch of Septimius Severus, the vast Severan Forum and basilica, colonnaded streets, a great theatre, markets, baths and a harbour, all in honey-coloured stone and marble. To walk among its arches and columns beside the sea is to experience the ambition of imperial Rome made astonishingly real, one of the finest classical sites on earth.

History

The Punic city was founded in the second half of the 7th century BC and was strong enough to drive off Dorieus's attempt to found a Greek colony nearby around 515 BC; it became part of the Carthaginian empire, sided with Rome against Jugurtha in 111 BC and, rich from the olive groves around it, could pay Julius Caesar three million pounds of oil a year as tax by 46 BC. Formally joined to the province of Africa under Tiberius, it became a municipium in 64 or 65 and a colonia under Trajan, and reached its greatest splendour from 193 under Septimius Severus, who was born here. After the dissolution of the Third Augustan Legion in 238 it lay open to raids, regained prosperity as a provincial capital under Diocletian, fell to the Vandals in 439, returned to the Eastern Empire in 533 and, after the Muslim conquest around 647, was abandoned and buried under sand dunes, which preserved it. Italian archaeologists uncovered it in the 1920s (Wikipedia, Leptis Magna).

What to look for

• The Arch of Septimius Severus - the towering ceremonial arch.
• The Severan Forum - the vast forum and basilica.
• The theatre - the great Roman theatre by the sea.
• The marble streets - the colonnaded avenues, markets and baths.

When to go

October to April, the cooler months, are far more comfortable than the hot summer for exploring the extensive open ruins beside the Mediterranean; the honey-coloured stone glows beautifully in the low light of morning and late afternoon. Winter days on this coast are mild and pleasant.

Things to know

Leptis Magna is a large, open coastal site with little shade, so exploring its streets and monuments takes time, water and sun protection. As the grandest and one of the best-preserved Roman cities on earth, a UNESCO World Heritage marvel of arches, forums and marble streets by the sea, though, Leptis Magna is an utterly extraordinary and rewarding site.

Nearby

The town of Al Khums and the coast east of Tripoli lie around the ruins.

Key facts